(The Center Square) – Dominion Energy’s proposed 3,000-megawatt power plant moved a step closer to local approval Monday after Cumberland County planning commissioners backed the project.
The Planning Commission voted 5-1 to recommend approval of a conditional use permit for the Cumberland Energy Center and voted 6-0 to find the project substantially in accord with the county’s comprehensive plan.
Dominion is proposing a dual-fuel combined-cycle power station on about 150 acres off Duncan Store Road in northern Cumberland County. The company says the plant would generate nearly 3,000 megawatts of electricity, enough to power as many as 750,000 homes. It would primarily use natural gas, with fuel oil as a backup.
The project requires a conditional use permit because the property is in an agricultural zoning district. Dominion submitted its application in June, and Cumberland County completed its administrative review in July.
An economic analysis prepared by Mangum Economics for Dominion projects the plant would generate about $502.1 million in Cumberland County property tax revenue over its anticipated 36-year operating life.
The report separately estimates construction would generate about $14.2 million in one-time sales and use tax revenue for the county.
The analysis estimates construction would support 336 jobs in Cumberland County and about $71.8 million in local economic activity.
Once operating, the plant is projected to support 102 jobs and about $142 million in economic activity each year.
The proposal has also drawn opposition over its potential health and environmental effects.
A study conducted by EmPower Analytics Group and commissioned by the Southern Environmental Law Center estimates pollution from the plant could contribute to between 3.2 and 7.1 premature deaths annually under its central operating scenario, along with asthma cases, lost workdays and other health effects.
The study estimates related economic damages at between $61.3 million and $118.5 million each year.
Because Dominion has not yet released facility-specific annual emissions estimates for the proposed plant, the analysis estimated emissions using two other Dominion natural gas plants as proxies. Researchers then used atmospheric modeling and federal health-impact methods to estimate potential effects.
The Planning Commission’s recommendation is not final approval.
Cumberland’s Board of Supervisors is scheduled to meet Sept. 8, with county documents showing a proposed Board of Supervisors public hearing on the project Oct. 13.
This post was originally published on The Center Square.
